Testimony of Amber Peebles on Reverse Auctions

WIPP Member Amber Peebles Testifies Before House Small Business Subcommittee

on Contracting and Work Force

WASHINGTON, D.C. (March 19, 2015) – Testifying before the House Small Business Subcommittee on Contracting and Work Force, Amber Peebles, President of Athena Construction and Women Impacting Public Policy (WIPP) Leadership Advisory Council member urged the Committee to enact common sense contracting changes. Citing personal experience, she gave examples of ill-conceived reverse auction practices and the impact of delays on women-owned federal contractors. The testimony also highlighted concerns with increased consolidation of contracts limiting participation of women-owned firms, known as strategic sourcing.

Peebles advocated for expeditious implementation of the sole source authority for the WOSB procurement program recently signed into law. She noted, "Every day this policy cannot be utilized is another day women business owners are disadvantaged by the contracting process.” The law must now be promulgated by SBA and adopted by the Federal Acquisition Regulation (FAR) Council.

WIPP regularly testifies before Congressional Committees on behalf of women business owners. Beyond contracting issues, WIPP has recently testified on healthcare reform, tax reform, cybersecurity, regulatory fairness, small business issues, and their impact on the women’s business community.

WIPP is a nonprofit organization recognized as a national, nonpartisan voice for women entrepreneurs. Advocating on behalf of its coalition of 4.7 million businesswomen including 78 business organizations, WIPP identifies important trends and opportunities and provides a collaborative model for the public and private sectors to increase the economic power of women-owned businesses. For more information, please visit www.wipp.org.